Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

[jeremy1701]

Hi,
the desktop effect for the window image doesn't seem to be working for me. For example, when I hover over the window in the task bar, it displays a blank image. The 'window' is still there, but it's always just a blank window. The same thing happens for the 'present windows' effect. They all move to the correct location, and the icon/name are present, but there is no image of the windows themselves.
Thanks.

[Snowhog]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

What Desktop Theme are you using?
What make/model video card do you have?

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

Running Maverick with the default theme. Computer is a Dell Inspiron 1564. Card is an integrated 512 (MB) Intel® X4500HD Graphics Media Accelerator

[Snowhog]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

Try enabling (checking) the Disable functionality checks on the Advanced tab of K > System Settings > Desktop Effects. Some Intel GPUs are problematic. For mine, if I don't enable the Disable functionality checks then the Translucency effect doesn't work.

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

Will do! Thanks for the tip. Kubuntu 10.10 is just about the most perfectly working Linux I've ever installed. A few 'smallish' issues such as these are my only worry.

Ahhhh, long gone are the days of custom tuning X and manually installing wifi drivers. lol! :P

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

okay... that didn't work. Leaving it as "OpenGL", I tried fiddling with a bunch of options and none of them worked. Present Windows and Task Preview still show empty windows. However, when I switch to XRender, the Taskbar Preview works but Present Windows isn't even an option to enable (and therefore, I'm unsure if it's working or not). Other things that don't work under XRender are Cube and Wobbly Windows.

I guess worst case is, I'd rather have OpenGL without the previews.

Any other ideas?

[sithlord48]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

its possibly an issue w/ your video card driver, if previews are really important to you , you might want to try the xcrack ppa. (newest xorg / drivers ) but only do that if your not afraid to have to fix X just incase.

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

So... A little more on this. I actually *can* see thumbnails of the windows once in a great while. Usually, I see only an empty screen. For Present Windows, I seem them for a split second and then they go empty. For taskbar preview, I see them every once in a while. Here's the thing.... In both case, when I don't see them, everything works fine. However, my computer completely freezes up when I do see them.

Short term solution? Just don't use it. Is there a way to see any error messages when it does work but freezes? I checked the standard locations (dmesg, /var/log), but no luck....

[Guest]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

Exact same problem here on a Dell Latitude E4300 with an Intel i915 card. Does anyone have any idea?

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

I never found a solution, but I know that a bug report has been submitted.

[Guest]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

I never found a solution, but I know that a bug report has been submitted.

Do you have the link to it? I'd love to follow it.

[jeremy1701]

Re: Desktop Effects - Window "image" not working

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...ce/+bug/671295